The holidays and the prospect of sunny and hot weather is leading more and more Flemings to reach for the barbecue. Hot weather may be pleasant but these are also ideal conditions for many bacteria to multiply. "So be careful, especially with raw meat," warns Dr Devroey, a lecturer in general practice medicine at the Flemish Free University of Brussels, the VUB.
"Actually, any meat can be contaminated with bacteria. A firm piece of beef means the bacteria will remain mainly on the outside: frying a steak whole is generally safe. When you cut the meat finely and eat it raw, for example for dishes such as carpaccio or tartare, that becomes more problematic because bacteria can live inside. So it is very important to prepare fresh raw meat dishes. If meat is left at room or outside temperature for too long, bacteria can quickly multiply. These bacteria can make you quite ill after eating."
"If the meat is not left out of the fridge for too long, there is no big problem," Dr Devroey continues. "The longer out of the fridge, the longer the meat rests at room or outside temperature and the greater the chance of bacteria developing on it."
And what about fried meat? How long can you keep that? "Be careful" advises the doctor. "At a barbecue, fried meat is on the table for a long time. Then there is also a high chance of bacteria developing on it. Meat from a barbecue that has already been fried should not be kept."
Chicken on the menu
“In chicken bacteria are often much deeper in the meat and therefore it should be fully cooked," Dr Devroey explains. "This applies to all poultry and not just chicken. You can get a salmonella infection when poultry is not well cooked. That's a serious stomach infection. But you can also come down with a fever, diarrhoea or muscle pains."
"Raw meat can be lethal for people with reduced immunity and it’s not just people with weak immunity, but also the over 85s and young children who may be in danger. Pregnant women should also beware of the toxoplasmosis that can be contained in raw meat. This can cause miscarriage or premature birth."
Should meat be on the menu?
"Meat contains a lot of protein and vitamins. It is a healthy food source, but you should not overdo it. You can eat 500 grams of meat a week. Preferably only half should be red meat. If you don't eat meat, you have to replace it in some other way with, for example, a meat substitute."
At restaurants, you can often choose a 250- or 500-gram steak. "If you eat a 500-gram steak at a restaurant, you've actually eaten your meat quota for a whole week," he says.
And what about sushi? Is raw fish dangerous? "There can be bacteria on all food, so also on raw fish," says Dr Devroey. "If you eat sushi, you have to make sure it's really fresh and carefully prepared. When you bake fish, it will be less infectious, but always be careful."